Information processing terminal

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to an information processing terminal that makes it possible to readily upgrade software of information processing terminals connected by a network. When a control program stored in a display apparatus  5 B is upgraded by a control program stored on a memory card  10 , an upgrade program for a base station  1  and the control program for display apparatus  5 A and  5 B read by the display apparatus  5 B are transmitted to the base station  1 . The base station  1  upgrades a control program stored therein by the upgrade program received by the base station  1 , and also transmits the control program for the display apparatus  5 A and  5 C to the display apparatus  5 A and  5 C. The display apparatus  5 A and  5 C each upgrade a control program stored therein by the upgrade program received by the display apparatus  5 A and  5 C, respectively.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processingterminal, and particularly to an information processing terminal thatmakes it possible to readily upgrade a program.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] With the evolution of network technology and informationprocessing terminals such as personal computers, it has recently becomepossible to connect various information processing terminals by anetwork even in a home.

[0003] These information processing terminals can add various functionsthereto by upgrading software being used by the information processingterminals.

[0004] However, even with information processing terminals connected toa network constructed in a home, when software is to be upgraded, it isnecessary to install software in each of the terminals.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and itis accordingly an object of the present invention to make it possibleto, by upgrading software of one information processing terminal,readily upgrade the software of the other information processingterminals connected by a network.

[0006] According to the present invention, there is provided a firstinformation processing terminal characterized by including:communicating means for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; storing means for storing a first control program;and control program rewriting means for rewriting the first controlprogram stored by the storing means; wherein the control programrewriting means rewrites the old first control program stored in thestoring means on the basis of a new first control program stored on aremovable recording medium, and the communicating means transmits asecond control program stored on the recording medium to the informationprocessing apparatus to upgrade an old second control program.

[0007] The communicating means can transmit to the informationprocessing apparatus the second control program for the informationprocessing apparatus corresponding to the first control program obtainedby the rewriting of the control program rewriting means.

[0008] The storing means can store a plurality of first controlprograms, and the control program rewriting means can rewrite only oneof the plurality of first control programs.

[0009] According to the present invention, there is provided aninformation processing method of the first information processingterminal, the information processing method characterized by including:a communicating step for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; a storing step for storing a first control program;and a control program rewriting step for rewriting the first controlprogram stored by processing of the storing step; wherein processing ofthe control program rewriting step rewrites the old first controlprogram stored by the processing of the storing step on the basis of anew first control program stored on a removable recording medium, andprocessing of the communicating step transmits a second control programstored on the recording medium to the information processing apparatusto upgrade an old second control program.

[0010] According to the present invention, there is provided a programon a first recording medium, the program characterized by including: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; a storing step for storing a first control program;and a control program rewriting step for rewriting the first controlprogram stored by processing of the storing step; wherein processing ofthe control program rewriting step rewrites the old first controlprogram stored by the processing of the storing step on the basis of anew first control program stored on a removable recording medium, andprocessing of the communicating step transmits a second control programstored on the recording medium to the information processing apparatusto upgrade an old second control program.

[0011] According to the present invention, there is provided a secondinformation processing terminal characterized by including:communicating means for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; storing means for storing a control program; andcontrol program rewriting means for rewriting the control program storedby the storing means; wherein the control program rewriting meansrewrites the old control program stored by the storing means on thebasis of a new control program obtained by the communicating means fromthe information processing apparatus.

[0012] The storing means can store a plurality of control programs, andthe control program rewriting means can rewrite only one of theplurality of control programs.

[0013] The communicating means can obtain a new control programtransmitted from another information processing terminal to theinformation processing apparatus.

[0014] The second information processing terminal can further includerewriting prohibiting means for prohibiting the rewriting of the controlprogram by the control program rewriting means.

[0015] According to the present invention, there is provided aninformation processing method of the second information processingterminal, the information processing method characterized by including:a communicating step for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; a storing step for storing a control program; and acontrol program rewriting step for rewriting the control program storedby processing of the storing step; wherein processing of the controlprogram rewriting step rewrites the old control program stored by theprocessing of the storing step on the basis of a new control programobtained by processing of the communicating step from the informationprocessing apparatus.

[0016] According to the present invention, there is provided a programon a second recording medium, the program characterized by including: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; a storing step for storing a control program; and acontrol program rewriting step for rewriting the control program storedby processing of the storing step; wherein processing of the controlprogram rewriting step rewrites the old control program stored by theprocessing of the storing step on the basis of a new control programobtained by processing of the communicating step from the informationprocessing apparatus.

[0017] According to the present invention, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus characterized by including:communicating means for communicating with an information processingterminal by radio; storing means for storing a control program; andcontrol program rewriting means for rewriting the control program storedby the storing means on the basis of a control program obtained by thecommunicating means from the information processing terminal.

[0018] When a plurality of information processing terminals areprovided, the communicating means can transmit a control programobtained from a first information processing terminal to a secondinformation processing terminal to upgrade a control program of thesecond information processing terminal.

[0019] According to the present invention, there is provided aninformation processing method of the information processing apparatus,the information processing method characterized by including: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingterminal by radio; a storing step for storing a control program; and acontrol program rewriting step for rewriting the control program storedby processing of the storing step on the basis of a control programobtained by processing of the communicating step from the informationprocessing terminal.

[0020] According to the present invention, there is provided a programon a third recording medium, the program characterized by including: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingterminal by radio; a storing step for storing a control program; and acontrol program rewriting step for rewriting the control program storedby processing of the storing step on the basis of a control programobtained by processing of the communicating step from the informationprocessing terminal.

[0021] According to the present invention, there is provided a firstcommunication system characterized in that: an information processingterminal includes: first communicating means for communicating with aninformation processing apparatus by radio; first storing means forstoring a first control program; and first control program rewritingmeans for rewriting the first control program stored by the firststoring means; wherein the first control program rewriting meansrewrites the old first control program stored in the first storing meanson the basis of a new first control program stored on a removablerecording medium, and the first communicating means transmits a newsecond control program stored on the recording medium to the informationprocessing apparatus to upgrade an old second control program The firstcommunication system is also characterized in that: the informationprocessing apparatus includes: second communicating means forcommunicating with the information processing terminal by radio; secondstoring means for storing the second control program; and second controlprogram rewriting means for rewriting the old second control programstored by the second storing means on the basis of the new secondcontrol program obtained by the second communicating means from theinformation processing terminal.

[0022] According to the present invention, there is provided a secondcommunication system characterized in that: an information processingterminal includes: first communicating means for communicating with aninformation processing apparatus by radio; first storing means forstoring a control program; and control program rewriting means forrewriting the control program stored by the first storing means; whereinthe control program rewriting means rewrites the old control programstored by the first storing means on the basis of a new control programobtained by the first communicating means from the informationprocessing apparatus. The second communication system is alsocharacterized in that: the information processing apparatus includessecond communicating means for communicating with the informationprocessing terminal by radio and transmitting a control program obtainedfrom a first information processing terminal to a second informationprocessing terminal to upgrade a control program of the secondinformation processing terminal.

[0023] The first information processing terminal and method, and theprogram on the first recording medium according to the present inventioncommunicate with an information processing apparatus by radio, store afirst control program, and rewrite the stored first control program. Thestored old first control program is rewritten on the basis of a newfirst control program stored on a removable recording medium, and asecond control program stored on the recording medium is transmitted tothe information processing apparatus to upgrade an old second controlprogram.

[0024] The second information processing terminal and method, and theprogram on the second recording medium according to the presentinvention communicate with an information processing apparatus by radio,store a control program, and rewrite the stored control program. Thestored old control program is rewritten on the basis of a new controlprogram obtained from the information processing apparatus.

[0025] The information processing apparatus and method, and the programon the third recording medium according to the present inventioncommunicate with an information processing terminal by radio, store acontrol program, and rewrite the stored control program on the basis ofa control program obtained from the information processing terminal.

[0026] The information processing terminal in the first communicationsystem according to the present invention communicates with aninformation processing apparatus by radio, stores a first controlprogram, and rewrites the stored first control program. The old firstcontrol program is rewritten on the basis of a new first control programstored on a removable recording medium, and a new second control programstored on the recording medium is transmitted to the informationprocessing apparatus to upgrade an old second control program. Theinformation processing apparatus communicates with the informationprocessing terminal by radio, stores the second control program, andrewrites the stored old second control program on the basis of the newsecond control program obtained from the information processingterminal.

[0027] The information processing terminal in the second communicationsystem according to the present invention communicates with aninformation processing apparatus by radio, stores a control program, andrewrites the stored control program. The stored old control program isrewritten on the basis of a new control program obtained from theinformation processing apparatus. The information processing apparatuscommunicates with the information processing terminal by radio andtransmits a control program obtained from a first information processingterminal to a second information processing terminal to upgrade acontrol program of the second information processing terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of configuration of acommunication system to which the present invention is applied.

[0029]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of a display apparatus in FIG. 1.

[0030]FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of a base station in FIG. 1.

[0031]FIG. 4 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining processing ofthe display apparatus in FIG. 1.

[0032]FIG. 5 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining processing ofthe base station in FIG. 1.

[0033]FIG. 6 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining other processingof the base station in FIG. 1.

[0034]FIG. 7 is a flowchart of assistance in explaining other processingof the display apparatus in FIG. 1.

[0035]FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of configuration of anothercommunication system to which the present invention is applied.

[0036]FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of a personal computer.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0037]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of configuration of acommunication system to which the present invention is applied.

[0038] A base station 1 has a communication antenna 2, and can therebycommunicate by radio with each of a display apparatus 5A provided with acommunication antenna 6A, a display apparatus 5B provided with acommunication antenna 6B, and a display apparatus 5C provided with acommunication antenna 6C. (When each of the display apparatus 5A to 5Cdoes not need to be individually differentiated from the others, thedisplay apparatus 5A to 5C will hereinafter be referred to collectivelyas a display apparatus 5. The same applies to other constituent parts.)

[0039] The base station 1 is connected with a television broadcastreceiving antenna 3. Thus, in response to a specification by a user of achannel to be selected, the base station 1 can extract a program signalfrom television broadcast waves received by the television broadcastreceiving antenna 3. The extracted program signal is compressed by acompression method conforming to MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) 2,for example, transmitted from the communication antenna 2 to the displayapparatus 5, and then outputted to a display unit 7 and speakers 8-1 and8-2 provided to the display apparatus 5. The user can thereby view thetelevision program while holding the display apparatus 5 and movingfreely.

[0040] The base station 1 is also connected with the Internet 4 formedby a public line network and the like. Thus, in response to notificationfrom the display apparatus 5 via the communication antenna 2 of a URL(Uniform Resource Locator) inputted by the user, the base station 1accesses a not shown WWW (World Wide Web) server connected to theInternet 4 and specified by the URL, and thereby obtains a Web pagedescribed in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), for example. Theobtained Web page is compressed by a predetermined compression method,transmitted from the communication antenna 2 to the display apparatus 5,and then displayed on the display unit 7. The user can thereby usevarious contents on the Internet 4 by means of the display apparatus 5while moving freely, as in the case of viewing the television program.The user can also use the display apparatus 5 to send and receive e-mailto and from an information processing apparatus such as a personalcomputer connected to the Internet 4.

[0041] Each of the display apparatus 5 is provided with a memory cardslot 9 so that a removable memory card 10 can be inserted into thememory card slot 9. The memory card 10 has a nonvolatile flash memorytherein, and can store various information. The user can for examplestore a picture taken by a digital camera on the memory card 10, insertthe memory card 10 into the memory card slot 9, and thereby display thetaken picture on the display unit 7. The user can also store on thememory card 10 a desired moment of a program displayed on the displayunit 7, and later reproduce the moment on the display unit 7.

[0042] In addition, the user can use the memory card 10 to installvarious programs stored thereon in the display apparatus 5. For example,the user can use an upgrade program stored on the memory card 10 as acontrol program compatible with various data currently used in thedisplay apparatus 5 to upgrade a WWW browser program or the like storedin the display apparatus 5.

[0043] In the communication system of FIG. 1, when the user has upgradeda program stored in the display apparatus 5B using the memory card 10,for example, an upgrade program for the base station 1 corresponding tothe program stored in the display apparatus 5B is read from the memorycard 10, and then transmitted from the display apparatus 5B to the basestation 1. In response to the transmitted upgrade program, the basestation 1 upgrades a program stored therein (currently used program).

[0044] In the communication system of FIG. 1, the upgrade program (thesame program as the program installed in the display apparatus 5B) forprograms stored in the other display apparatus 5 (the display apparatus5A and 5C in the above case) is transmitted to the base station 1 inconjunction with the upgrade program for the base station 1, and thentransmitted from the base station 1 to the display apparatus 5A and 5C.Then, the display apparatus 5A and 5C also upgrade the currently usedprogram by the upgrade program received by the display apparatus 5A and5C. Thus, by installing the upgrade program in one of the displayapparatus 5, the user can upgrade the program of the other displayapparatus 5.

[0045] In addition, the user can make a setting to prohibit thecurrently used program in each of the display apparatus 5 from beingupgraded by the upgrade program transmitted from the base station 1. Theuser can thereby prevent the program that has been used and varioussettings related to operation from being updated automatically.

[0046]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of the display apparatus 5 in FIG. 1.

[0047] According to various instructions inputted by operation of anoperating input unit 22 by the user, a main control unit 21 unfolds, ina RAM (Random Access Memory) not shown in the figure, a control programstored in a built-in ROM (Read Only Memory) not shown in the figure, ora program storage unit 28-1 or 28-2. The main control unit 21 thuscontrols operation of the whole of the display apparatus 5.

[0048] The operating input unit 22 is formed of various buttons, andnotifies various input information inputted from the user to the maincontrol unit 21. The operating input unit 22 also has a function of atouch panel laminated on the display unit 7; the operating input unit 22generates input information in response to the touching with the hand ofthe user of various buttons displayed on the display unit 7, and thensupplies the input information to the main control unit 21. In addition,the display apparatus 5 is provided with a touch pen for inputtingvarious information, and the operating input unit 22 supplies the maincontrol unit 21 with text data as e-mail inputted from the touch pen,for example.

[0049] A communication control unit 23 transmits a signal supplied froma transmission processing unit 24 to the base station 1 via thecommunication antenna 6. The communication control unit 23 also receivesa signal transmitted from the base station 1 via the communicationantenna 6, and then supplies the signal to a reception processing unit25.

[0050] The transmission processing unit 24 subjects the text data ase-mail, for example, supplied from the main control unit 21 todigital-to-analog conversion, modulation processing and the like, andthen supplies a resulting analog signal to the communication controlunit 23.

[0051] The reception processing unit 25 subjects the analog signalsupplied from the communication control unit 23 to amplification,demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion processing and the like, andthen supplies resulting digital data to the main control unit 21. Forexample, the reception processing unit 25 supplies the main control unit21 with television program data in a compressed state obtained aftersubjecting a television program signal supplied from the communicationcontrol unit 23 to the various processing.

[0052] A reproduction control unit 26 reproduces data supplied from themain control unit 21 for display on the display unit 7 or output to thespeaker 8. The reproduction control unit 26 for example decodes thetelevision program data supplied from the main control unit 21 in astate of being compressed in a format conforming to MPEG2, for example,and then displays a resulting video signal on the display unit 7 andoutputs a resulting audio signal to the speaker 8. The reproductioncontrol unit 26 also performs processing such as displaying a Web pagesupplied from the main control unit 21 on the display unit 7.

[0053] A selector switch 27 selects a control program to be supplied tothe main control unit 21 from a control program stored by the programstorage unit 28-1 and a control program stored by the program storageunit 28-2 according to an instruction from the main control unit 21.

[0054] A selector switch 29 selects the program storage units 28-1 and28-2 into which an upgrade program supplied from a memory card driver 30is to be installed, according to an instruction from the main controlunit 21. The selector switch 29 is for example alternately turned to ana side (program storage unit 28-1 side) and a b side (program storageunit 28-2 side) in FIG. 2 to upgrade the stored control program eachtime an upgrade program is supplied. That is, the older of the controlprograms stored in the program storage unit 28-1 and the program storageunit 28-2 is upgraded (rewritten)Incidentally, the user may be allowedto select where to install a control program.

[0055] The memory card driver 30 reads and writes various data from andto the memory card 10 inserted in the memory card slot 9. For example,the memory card driver 30 reads the control program stored on the memorycard 10 according to an instruction from the main control unit 21, andthen supplies the control program to the selector switch 29.

[0056]FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of an internalconfiguration of the base station 1.

[0057] A CPU 41 controls operation of each part connected to the CPU 41via a bus 42 according to an instruction inputted from the user byoperating an input unit 51 and an instruction transmitted from thedisplay apparatus 5 via the communication antenna 2.

[0058] A ROM 43 stores programs for controlling fundamental operationand the like among control programs used by the CPU 41. A RAM 44temporarily stores a program used by the CPU 41 and various datagenerated when processing is performed.

[0059] Program storage units 46-1 and 46-2 store a control program in aversion corresponding to that of a control program stored in the programstorage units 28-1 and 28-2, respectively, of the display apparatus 5A.Thus, when the control program of the program storage unit 28-1 isstarted by the main control unit 21 in the display apparatus 5A, forexample, the CPU 41 starts the control program stored in the programstorage unit 46-1 to communicate with the display apparatus 5A.

[0060] Similarly, program storage units 48-1 and 48-2 store a controlprogram in a version corresponding to that of a control program storedin the program storage units 28-1 and 28-2, respectively, of the displayapparatus 5B. Program storage units 50-1 and 50-2 store a controlprogram in a version corresponding to that of a control program storedin the program storage units 28-1 and 28-2, respectively, of the displayapparatus 5C.

[0061] As described later, when the display apparatus 5 upgrades thecontrol program of either one of the program storage units 28-1 and28-2, the control program stored in the corresponding program storageunit of the base station 1 is also upgraded.

[0062] Selector switches 45, 47, and 49 select the program storage unitsfor reading and writing the control programs according to an instructionfrom the CPU 41.

[0063] The input unit 51 sends input information inputted by operating abutton by the user to the CPU 41 via the bus 42.

[0064] A communication unit 52 is formed by a modem, a terminal adapterand the like, and sends and receives information to and from variousinformation processing apparatus connected to the Internet 4.

[0065] A channel selecting unit 53 extracts a specified program signalfrom television broadcast waves received by the television broadcastreceiving antenna 3 according to an instruction from the CPU 41. Theextracted program signal is supplied to a demodulating unit 54,subjected to demodulation processing, amplification processing,analog-to-digital conversion processing and the like, and then suppliedto a selector switch 55.

[0066] The selector switch 55 selects data to be transmitted to thedisplay apparatus 5 from the television program data supplied to theselector switch 55 from the demodulating unit 54 and an HTML filesupplied to the selector switch 55 via the bus 42 according to aninstruction from the CPU 41, and then supplies the data to a compressionprocessing unit 56. When the display apparatus 5A requests reproductionof a television program and the display apparatus 5B requests display ofa Web page, for example, the CPU 41 drives the selector switch 55 so asto respond to the requests.

[0067] The compression processing unit 56 subjects the televisionprogram data supplied from the selector switch 55 and the HTML filesupplied from the communication unit 52 via the bus 42 to compressionprocessing by a predetermined method, and then supplies resulting datato a transmission buffer 57. The transmission buffer 57 supplies thedata supplied from the compression processing unit 56 to a transmissionprocessing unit 58 according to an instruction for timing from the CPU41.

[0068] The transmission processing unit 58 supplies a communicationcontrol unit 60 with a signal obtained by subjecting the data suppliedfrom the transmission buffer 57 to modulation, digital-to-analogconversion processing and the like. The communication control unit 60then transmits the data supplied from the transmission processing unit58 from the communication antenna 2 to the display apparatus 5requesting the data.

[0069] A reception processing unit 59 sends, to the CPU 41 via the bus42, data obtained by subjecting a signal of a URL of a WWW server to beaccessed, for example, the signal having being received from the displayapparatus 5 by the communication control unit 60 via the communicationantenna 2, to demodulation processing and the like.

[0070] Operation of the communication system in FIG. 1 will next bedescribed with reference to flowcharts of FIGS. 4 to 7. First,processing of the display apparatus 5 for upgrading a program will bedescribed with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4.

[0071] At a step S1, the main control unit 21 determines on the basis ofinput information from the operating input unit 22 whether aninstruction for upgrading a control program is provided from the user.The main control unit 21 stands by until the main control unit 21determines that the instruction is provided from the user.

[0072] When the user inserts the memory card 10 having an upgradeprogram stored thereon into the memory card slot 9 and performs apredetermined input operation from the operating input unit 22, the maincontrol unit 21 determines that the instruction for upgrade is provided,and then proceeds to a step S2.

[0073] At the step S2, the main control unit 21 determines whetherprocessing of upgrading the control program has been performed in thepast. On the basis of results of determination at the step S2 and a stepS4, the main control unit 21 selects the program storage unit 28-1 or28-2 having the older-version control program stored therein, andoverwrites the older-version control program with the upgrade programprovided via the memory card 10.

[0074] Thus, when the main control unit 21 determines at the step S2that the upgrade processing has not been performed in the past, the maincontrol unit 21 proceeds to a step S3 to read the upgrade program bycontrolling the memory card driver 30, drive the selector switch 29 tothe switch b side (program storage unit 28-2 side), and thereby installthe upgrade program in the program storage unit 28-2. That is, in thiscase, the program storage unit 28-1 stores a first control program(control program used in an initial state), and the program storage unit28-2 does not store anything. Thus, the version of the control programstored in the program storage unit 28-2 becomes newer than the versionof the control program stored in the program storage unit 28-1.

[0075] When the main control unit 21 determines at the step S2 that theupgrade processing has been performed in the past, on the other hand,the main control unit 21 compares the version of the control programstored in the program storage unit 28-1 with the version of the controlprogram stored in the program storage unit 28-2. The main control unit21 then determines at the step S4 whether the control program stored inthe program storage unit 28-1 is newer than the control program storedin the program storage unit 28-2.

[0076] When the main control unit 21 determines at the step S4 that thecontrol program stored in the program storage unit 28-1 is newer thanthe control program stored in the program storage unit 28-2, the maincontrol unit 21 proceeds to the step S3 and installs the control programstored on the memory card 10 into the program storage unit 28-2 so as toupgrade the older-version control program.

[0077] On the other hand, when the main control unit 21 determines atthe step S4 that the control program stored in the program storage unit28-1 is older than the control program stored in the program storageunit 28-2, the main control unit 21 proceeds to a step S5 to drive theselector switch 29 to the a side and install the control program storedon the memory card 10 into the program storage unit 28-1.

[0078] After the processing of upgrading the control program isperformed at the step S3 or the step S5, the processing proceeds to astep S6. At the step S6, in order to upgrade also the control programsof the base station 1 and the other display apparatus 5 (displayapparatus 5B and 5C when the memory card 10 is inserted into the displayapparatus 5A and the upgrade processing is performed therein), the maincontrol unit 21 reads from the memory card 10 the same control programas the control program installed at the step S3 or S5 and a controlprogram for the base station 1 corresponding to the version of the samecontrol program as the control program installed at the step S3 or S5.The read control programs are subjected to modulation, digital-to-analogconversion processing and the like by the transmission processing unit24 and the communication control unit 23, and then transmitted from thecommunication antenna 6 to the base station 1. Thereafter, theprocessing is ended.

[0079] As a result of the above processing, the control programs arestored in the program storage units 28-1 and 28-2. Therefore, even ifthe upgrade processing is not completed properly, the main control unit21 can start the older-version control program to perform variousprocessing.

[0080] Processing of the base station 1 for upgrading a control programwill next be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5.

[0081] At a step S21, the CPU 41 determines whether an upgrade programhas been transmitted to the base station 1 from the display apparatus5A. That is, the CPU 41 determines whether the processing described withreference to FIG. 4 has been performed in the display apparatus 5A. Whenthe CPU 41 determines that the upgrade program received by thecommunication antenna 2, subjected to amplification, demodulation,analog-to-digital conversion processing and the like by the receptionprocessing unit 59, and transmitted to the CPU 41 via the bus 42 hasbeen transmitted to the base station 1 from the display apparatus 5A,the CPU 41 proceeds to a step S22.

[0082] At a step S22, the CPU 41 determines whether an upgrade programhas been installed in the program storage unit 28-1 in the displayapparatus 5A.

[0083] When the CPU 41 determines at the step S22 that the upgradeprogram provided via the memory card 10 has been installed in theprogram storage unit 28-1 in the display apparatus 5A, the CPU 41proceeds to a step S23 to receive the transmitted control program forthe base station 1 and then install the control program in the programstorage unit 46-1. The selector switch 45 turns the switch to the a side(program storage unit 46-1 side) according to an instruction from theCPU 41 to install the upgrade program supplied from the receptionprocessing unit 59 into the program storage unit 46-1.

[0084] On the other hand, when the CPU 41 determines at the step S22that the upgrade program provided via the memory card 10 has not beeninstalled in the program storage unit 28-1 (has been installed in theprogram storage unit 28-2) in the display apparatus 5A, the CPU 41proceeds to a step S24. At the step S24, the CPU 41 drives the selectorswitch 45 to the b side (program storage unit 46-2 side) to install theupgrade program supplied from the reception processing unit 59 into theprogram storage unit 46-2.

[0085] As a result of the above processing, the control program for thebase station 1 is stored so that the version of the control programinstalled in the display apparatus 5A corresponds to the version of thecontrol program for the base station 1. When the control program storedin the program storage unit 28-1 is started in the display apparatus 5A,for example, the base station 1 starts the control program stored in theprogram storage unit 46-1.

[0086] On the other hand, when the CPU 41 determines at the step S21that the upgrade program has not been transmitted from the displayapparatus 5A, the CPU 41 proceeds to a step S25.

[0087] At the step S25, the CPU 41 determines whether the upgradeprogram has been transmitted from the display apparatus 5B. When the CPU41 determines that the upgrade program has been transmitted from thedisplay apparatus 5B, the CPU 41 performs basically the same processingat steps S26 to S28 as that of the foregoing steps S22 to S24.

[0088] Specifically, the CPU 41 determines at the step S26 whether theupgrade program has been stored in the program storage unit 28-1 as aresult of performing the processing described with reference to FIG. 4in the display apparatus 5B. When the CPU 41 determines that the upgradeprogram provided via the memory card 10 has been installed in theprogram storage unit 28-1 in the display apparatus 5B, the CPU 41 storesthe transmitted upgrade program for the base station 1 in the programstorage unit 48-1 at the step S27. On the other hand, when the CPU 41determines that the upgrade program provided via the memory card 10 hasbeen installed in the storage unit 28-2 in the display apparatus 5B, theCPU 41 installs the transmitted upgrade program for the base station 1in the program storage unit 48-2.

[0089] When the CPU 41 determines at the step S25 that the upgradeprogram has not been transmitted from the display apparatus 5B, the CPU41 proceeds to a step S29.

[0090] At the step S29, the CPU 41 determines whether the upgradeprogram has been transmitted from the display apparatus 5C. When the CPU41 determines that the upgrade program has not been transmitted from thedisplay apparatus 5C, the CPU 41 returns to the step S21 and repeats theprocessing from the step S21 on down.

[0091] On the other hand, when the CPU 41 determines at the step S29that the upgrade program has been transmitted from the display apparatus5C, the CPU 41 performs basically the same processing at steps S30 toS32 as that of the foregoing steps S22 to S24 and that of the foregoingsteps S26 to S28.

[0092] Specifically, the CPU 41 determines at the step S30 whether theupgrade program has been stored in the program storage unit 28-1 as aresult of performing the processing described with reference to FIG. 4in the display apparatus 5C. When the CPU 41 determines that the upgradeprogram provided via the memory card 10 has been installed in theprogram storage unit 28-1 in the display apparatus 5C, the CPU 41 storesthe transmitted upgrade program for the base station 1 in the programstorage unit 50-1 at the step S31. On the other hand, when the CPU 41determines that the upgrade program provided via the memory card 10 hasbeen installed in the storage unit 28-2 in the display apparatus 5C, theCPU 41 installs the transmitted upgrade program for the base station 1in the program storage unit 50-2 at the step S32.

[0093] As a result of the above processing, the control program in thesame version is also installed in the display apparatus 5B and 5C.

[0094] Processing of the base station 1 for transmitting an upgradeprogram to display apparatus 5 that have not upgraded the controlprogram will next be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.6.

[0095] At a step S41, the CPU 41 determines whether or not an upgradeprogram has been transmitted to the base station 1 from the displayapparatus 5A. That is, the CPU 41 determines whether or not theprocessing described with reference to FIG. 4 has been performed in thedisplay apparatus 5A and the same control program as the control programinstalled therein has been transmitted at the step S6 in FIG. 4. Whenthe CPU 41 determines that an upgrade program has been transmitted fromthe display apparatus 5A, the CPU 41 proceeds to a step S42.

[0096] At the step S42, the CPU 41 transmits the received upgradeprogram (control program installed in the display apparatus 5A) to thedisplay apparatus 5B and 5C. The upgrade program of the displayapparatus 5 received by the communication antenna 2 is subjected tovarious processing by the reception processing unit 59, and thensupplied to the compression processing unit 56 via the bus 42 and theselector switch 55. Control program data obtained after the compressionprocessing unit 56 subjects the upgrade program to predeterminedcompression processing is supplied to the transmission buffer 57, andthen supplied to the transmission processing unit 58 according to aninstruction for timing from the CPU 41. The control program data issubjected to modulation and digital-to-analog conversion processing bythe transmission processing unit 58, and then transmitted from thecommunication control unit 60 to the display apparatus 5B and 5C via thecommunication antenna 2.

[0097] On the other hand, when the CPU 41 determines at the step S41that the upgrade program has not been transmitted from the displayapparatus 5A, the CPU 41 proceeds to a step S43.

[0098] At the step S43, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the upgradeprogram has been transmitted from the display apparatus 5B. When the CPU41 determines that the upgrade program has been transmitted from thedisplay apparatus 5B, the CPU 41 proceeds to a step S44. At the stepS44, the same processing as at the foregoing step S42 is performed totransmit the received upgrade program of the display apparatus 5 to thedisplay apparatus 5A and 5C.

[0099] When the CPU 41 determines at the step S43 that the upgradeprogram has not been transmitted from the display apparatus 5B, the CPU41 proceeds to a step S45.

[0100] At the step S45, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the upgradeprogram has been transmitted from the display apparatus 5C. When the CPU41 determines that the upgrade program has not been transmitted from thedisplay apparatus 5C, the CPU 41 returns to the step S41 and repeats theprocessing from the step S41 on down.

[0101] On the other hand, when the CPU 41 determines at the step S45that the upgrade program has been transmitted from the display apparatus5C, the CPU 41 proceeds to a step S46, and the same processing as at theforegoing steps S42 and S44 is performed. Specifically, the receivedupgrade program of the display apparatus 5 is transmitted to the displayapparatus 5A and 5B.

[0102] Processing of the display apparatus 5 for upgrading by a controlprogram transmitted from the base station 1 will next be described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 7. This processing is performed inthe display apparatus 5 that have not upgraded a control program via thememory card 10. When the control program of the display apparatus 5B isupgraded via the memory card 10 as shown in FIG. 1, for example, theprocessing is performed in the display apparatus 5A and 5C.

[0103] At a step S61, the main control unit 21 determines whether or notan upgrade program has been transmitted to the display apparatus 5 fromthe base station 1. The main control unit 21 stands by until the maincontrol unit 21 determines that an upgrade program has been transmittedto the display apparatus 5.

[0104] When the main control unit 21 determines at the step S61 that anupgrade program has been transmitted from the base station 1, the maincontrol unit 21 proceeds to a step S62. The upgrade program transmittedfrom the base station 1 is received by the communication antenna 6,subjected to demodulation processing, analog-to-digital conversionprocessing and the like by the communication control unit 23 and thereception processing unit 25, and then supplied to the main control unit21.

[0105] At the step S62, the main control unit 21 determines whether ornot a setting for refusing control program upgrade has been made.Specifically, as described above, the user can make a setting in thedisplay apparatus 5 used by the user himself/herself to refuse controlprogram upgrade by the upgrade program transmitted from the base station1. Therefore, when the main control unit 21 determines that a settingfor refusing control program upgrade has been made by a flag in a memorynot shown in the figure or the like, the main control unit 21 ends theprocessing.

[0106] On the other hand, when the main control unit 21 determines atthe step S62 that no setting for refusing control program upgrade hasbeen made, the main control unit 21 proceeds to a step S63 to performthe same processing at steps S63 to S66 as at the steps S2 to S5 in FIG.4. Specifically, when the main control unit 21 determines at the stepS63 that upgrade has not been performed in the past, no control programis stored in the program storage unit 28-2, and therefore the upgradeprogram transmitted from the base station 1 is installed in the programstorage unit 28-2 at the step S64.

[0107] When the main control unit 21 determines at the step S63 thatupgrade has been performed in the past, on the other hand, the maincontrol unit 21 determines at the step S65 which of the control programsstored in the program storage units 28-1 and 28-2 is the newer version.According to a result of the determination, the upgrade programtransmitted from the base station 1 is installed in the program storageunit that stores the older-version control program at the step S64 orS66.

[0108] With the above processing, even when a plurality of displayapparatus 5 are connected to the base station 1, it is not necessary toinsert the memory card 10 into each of the display apparatus 5 toinstall the control program. In addition, since a version of the controlprogram that has been previously used is stored, a situation where thedisplay apparatus 5 cannot be used is prevented even if it is notpossible to execute the upgraded control program properly.

[0109]FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of configuration of anothercommunication system to which the present invention is applied.

[0110] In this example, a base station 1 is connected with a homenetwork 71 formed by a LAN (Local Area Network), for example. Also, thehome network 71 is connected with electronic devices 72-1 to 72-3, sothat the electronic devices 72-1 to 72-3 can transmit and receive datato and from each other.

[0111] Hence, when a control program of a display apparatus 5 isupgraded via a memory card 10, not only are control programs of the basestation 1 and other display apparatus 5 upgraded, but also an upgradeprogram for the electronic devices 72-1 to 72-3 connected to the homenetwork 71 is read from the memory card 10 and installed in theelectronic devices 72-1 to 72-3.

[0112] Thus, in addition to the upgrading of control programs of thebase station 1 and the display apparatus 5, the present invention isapplicable to various electronic devices.

[0113] In the example described above, when each electronic device canstore a plurality of versions of a control program, a new version of thecontrol program is installed alternately in two program storage units28-1 and 28-2. However, three or more program storage units may beprovided, and the user may be allowed to select a program storage unitfor installation.

[0114] The series of processing steps described above may be carried outnot only by hardware but also by software.

[0115] When the series of processing steps is to be carried out bysoftware, a program forming the software is installed from a network ora recording medium into a general-purpose personal computer 81 as shownin FIG. 9, for example, and provided to the base station 1 or thedisplay apparatus 5 via the memory card 10 or the like. The program maybe installed in the base station 1 directly from the Internet 4 as anetwork.

[0116] As shown in FIG. 9, the recording medium is not only formed bypackaged media distributed to users to provide the program separatelyfrom the apparatus proper, the packaged media being formed by a magneticdisk 101 (including a floppy disk), an optical disk 102 (includingCD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory) and DVD (Digital VersatileDisk)), a magneto-optical disk 103 (including MD (Mini-Disk)), thememory card 10 or the like having the program recorded thereon, but alsoformed by a ROM 92, a hard disk included in a storage unit 98 or thelike which has the program recorded thereon and is supplied to the userin a state of being preincorporated in the apparatus proper.

[0117] It is to be noted that in the present specification, the stepsdescribing the program recorded on the recording medium include not onlyprocessing carried out in time series in the described order but alsoprocessing carried out in parallel or individually and not necessarilyin time series.

[0118] Also, in the present specification, a system represents anapparatus as a whole formed by a plurality of apparatus.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0119] As described above, according to the present invention, it ispossible to readily upgrade software of information processing apparatusconnected by a network without using a recording medium.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing terminal characterizedby comprising: communicating means for communicating with an informationprocessing apparatus by radio; storing means for storing a first controlprogram; and control program rewriting means for rewriting said firstcontrol program stored by said storing means; wherein said controlprogram rewriting means rewrites the old said first control programstored in said storing means on the basis of a new said first controlprogram stored on a removable recording medium; and said communicatingmeans transmits a second control program stored on said recording mediumto said information processing apparatus to upgrade an old said secondcontrol program.
 2. An information processing terminal as set forth inclaim 1, characterized in that: said communicating means transmits tosaid information processing apparatus said second control program forsaid information processing apparatus corresponding to said firstcontrol program obtained by the rewriting of said control programrewriting means.
 3. An information processing terminal as set forth inclaim 1, characterized in that: said storing means can store a pluralityof said first control programs; and said control program rewriting meansrewrites only one of the plurality of said first control programs.
 4. Aninformation processing method characterized by comprising: acommunicating step for communicating with an information processingapparatus by radio; a storing step for storing a first control program;and a control program rewriting step for rewriting said first controlprogram stored by processing of said storing step; wherein processing ofsaid control program rewriting step rewrites the old said first controlprogram stored by the processing of said storing step on the basis of anew said first control program stored on a removable recording medium;and processing of said communicating step transmits a second controlprogram stored on said recording medium to said information processingapparatus to upgrade an old said second control program.
 5. A recordingmedium having a computer readable program recorded thereon, said programcharacterized by comprising: a communicating step for communicating withan information processing apparatus by radio; a storing step for storinga first control program; and a control program rewriting step forrewriting said first control program stored by processing of saidstoring step; wherein processing of said control program rewriting steprewrites the old said first control program stored by the processing ofsaid storing step on the basis of a new said first control programstored on a removable recording medium; and processing of saidcommunicating step transmits a second control program stored on saidrecording medium to said information processing apparatus to upgrade anold said second control program.
 6. An information processing terminalcharacterized by comprising: communicating means for communicating withan information processing apparatus by radio; storing means for storinga control program; and control program rewriting means for rewritingsaid control program stored by said storing means; wherein said controlprogram rewriting means rewrites the old said control program stored bysaid storing means on the basis of a new said control program obtainedby said communicating means from said information processing apparatus.7. An information processing terminal as set forth in claim 6,characterized in that: said storing means can store a plurality of saidcontrol programs; and said control program rewriting means rewrites onlyone of the plurality of said control programs.
 8. An informationprocessing terminal as set forth in claim 6, characterized in that: saidcommunicating means obtains a new said control program transmitted fromanother information processing terminal to said information processingapparatus.
 9. An information processing terminal as set forth in claim6, characterized by further comprising rewriting prohibiting means forprohibiting the rewriting of said control program by said controlprogram rewriting means.
 10. An information processing methodcharacterized by comprising: a communicating step for communicating withan information processing apparatus by radio; a storing step for storinga control program; and a control program rewriting step for rewritingsaid control program stored by processing of said storing step; whereinprocessing of said control program rewriting step rewrites the old saidcontrol program stored by the processing of said storing step on thebasis of a new said control program obtained by processing of saidcommunicating step from said information processing apparatus.
 11. Arecording medium having a computer readable program recorded thereon,said program characterized by comprising: a communicating step forcommunicating with an information processing apparatus by radio; astoring step for storing a control program; and a control programrewriting step for rewriting said control program stored by processingof said storing step; wherein processing of said control programrewriting step rewrites the old said control program stored by theprocessing of said storing step on the basis of a new said controlprogram obtained by processing of said communicating step from saidinformation processing apparatus.
 12. An information processingapparatus characterized by comprising: communicating means forcommunicating with an information processing terminal by radio; storingmeans for storing a control program; and control program rewriting meansfor rewriting said control program stored by said storing means on thebasis of a said control program obtained by said communicating meansfrom said information processing terminal.
 13. An information processingapparatus as set forth in claim 12, characterized in that: when aplurality of said information processing terminals are provided, saidcommunicating means transmits a said control program obtained from afirst said information processing terminal to a second said informationprocessing terminal to upgrade a said control program of the second saidinformation processing terminal.
 14. An information processing methodcharacterized by comprising: a communicating step for communicating withan information processing terminal by radio; a storing step for storinga control program; and a control program rewriting step for rewritingsaid control program stored by processing of said storing step on thebasis of a said control program obtained by processing of saidcommunicating step from said information processing terminal.
 15. Arecording medium having a computer readable program recorded thereon,said program characterized by comprising: a communicating step forcommunicating with an information processing terminal by radio; astoring step for storing a control program; and a control programrewriting step for rewriting said control program stored by processingof said storing step on the basis of a said control program obtained byprocessing of said communicating step from said information processingterminal.
 16. A communication system comprising an informationprocessing terminal and an information processing apparatus, saidcommunication system characterized in that: said information processingterminal comprises: first communicating means for communicating withsaid information processing apparatus by radio; first storing means forstoring a first control program; and first control program rewritingmeans for rewriting said first control program stored by said firststoring means; wherein said first control program rewriting meansrewrites the old said first control program stored in said first storingmeans on the basis of a new said first control program stored on aremovable recording medium; and said first communicating means transmitsa new second control program stored on said recording medium to saidinformation processing apparatus to upgrade an old said second controlprogram; and said information processing apparatus comprises: secondcommunicating means for communicating with said information processingterminal by radio; second storing means for storing said second controlprogram; and second control program rewriting means for rewriting theold said second control program stored by said second storing means onthe basis of the new said second control program obtained by said secondcommunicating means from said information processing terminal.
 17. Acommunication system comprising an information processing terminal andan information processing apparatus, said communication systemcharacterized in that: said information processing terminal comprises:first communicating means for communicating with said informationprocessing apparatus by radio; first storing means for storing a controlprogram; and control program rewriting means for rewriting said controlprogram stored by said first storing means; wherein said control programrewriting means rewrites the old said control program stored by saidfirst storing means on the basis of a new said control program obtainedby said first communicating means from said information processingapparatus; and said information processing apparatus comprises: secondcommunicating means for communicating with said information processingterminal by radio and transmitting a said control program obtained froma first said information processing terminal to a second saidinformation processing terminal to upgrade a said control program of thesecond said information processing terminal.